Shoplifting suspect uses mulch to steal wire

A South Carolina teenager has been charged with repeatedly stealing coils of metal wire from a Home Depot store by hiding them under bags of mulch, according to an article in GoUpstate.com.

Malik Shaban, age 17, was arrested April 25 outside a Home Depot in Spartanburg, S.C., where police found him with three bags of mulch in his car, the report said. Under the mulch and a jacket in the car were nine rolls of copper wire valued at $808, according to the article.

Police said there were two other similar incidents this month. On April 5, store employees claimed that Shaban took a 500-foot roll of wire in a cart and pushed the cart out of the store without paying. An employee found the wire behind the store before Shaban was able to load it into his car, the report said. The wire was valued at $516.

In a second incident on April 22, store employees told police that Shaban placed six rolls of electrical wire in a car, then put three bags of mulch on top of it. Shaban paid for the mulch but stole the wire, valued at $720, according to the police report.

Shaban was charged with shoplifting and two counts of shoplifting enhanced. He was released from detention on a $12,000 bond.